Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry, Jr.; September 14, 1969) is an American actor, director, playwright, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Already a successful artist in Southern theater, Perry began to make national celebrity status in 2005 with the release of his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. In 2009, Perry was ranked by Forbes magazine as the sixth highest-paid man in Hollywood. He has won critical praise for playing Madea, a mentally strong who handles adversity with optimism and happiness; his critically acclaimed portrayal of her in the award-winning "Madea" series has caused him to be one of the most respected black actors in Hollywood. As of July 2009, Perry's films had grossed nearly $400 million worldwide.
Perry was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, as Emmitt Perry, Jr. His family consisted of three siblings, his mother, Willie Maxine Perry (née Campbell), and his father, Emmitt Perry, Sr., a carpenter. Perry once said of his father, "his only answer to everything was to beat it out of you. As a child, Perry once went so far as to attempt suicide in an effort to escape his father's beatings. In contrast to his father, his mother took him to church each week, where he sensed a certain refuge and contentment. At age 16, he had his first name legally changed from Emmitt to Tyler in an effort to distance himself from his father. After seeing the film Precious, he was moved to relate for the first time[ accounts of being molested by a friend's mother and by another friend's father at age 10, and finding out that his own father was molesting a friend.
While Perry did not complete high school, he earned a GED. In his early '20s, watching an Oprah Winfrey talk show, he heard someone describe the sometimes therapeutic effect that the act of writing can have, enabling the author to work out his or her own problems. This comment inspired him to apply himself to a career in writing. He soon started writing a series of letters to himself, which became the basis for the musical, I Know I've Been Changed.
Around 1990, he moved to Atlanta, where two years later I Know I've Been Changed was first performed at a community theater, financed by the $12,000 life savings of the 22-year-old Perry. It included Christian themes of forgiveness, dignity and self-worth, while addressing issues such as child abuse and dysfunctional families. The musical initially received a "less than stellar" reception and was a financial failure. Perry persisted, and over the next six years he rewrote the musical repeatedly, though lackluster reviews continued. In 1998, at age 28, a retooling of the play in Atlanta (first at the House of Blues, then at the Fox Theatre), became a great success. Perry continued to create new stage productions, touring with them on the so-called "chitlin' circuit" (now also known as the "urban theater circuit") and developing a large, devoted following among African-American audiences. In 2005 Forbes reported that he had sold "more than $100 million in tickets, $30 million in videos of his shows and an estimated $20 million in merchandise" and that "the 300 live shows he produces each year are attended by an average of 35,000 people a week.
Perry received a $5.5 million budget to fund his first movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which went on to gross $50.6 million domestically, while scoring a 16 percent approval rating at the film review web site, Rotten Tomatoes. On its opening weekend, February 24–26, 2006, Perry's film version of Madea's Family Reunion opened at number one at the box office with $30.3 million. The film eventually grossed $65 million. Perry and his co-stars promoted the film on The Oprah Winfrey Show. As with Diary, almost all of the Madeas earnings have been generated in the United States.
Perry's next Lionsgate project, Daddy's Little Girls, starred Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba and was released in the U.S. on February 14, 2007. It grossed over $31 million. Perry wrote, directed, produced and starred in his next movie, Why Did I Get Married?, released on October 12, 2007. It opened at number one, grossing $21.4 million that weekend. It is loosely based on his play of the same name. Filming began March 5, 2007, in Whistler, British Columbia, Vancouver, then moved to Atlanta, where Perry had opened his own studio. Janet Jackson, Sharon Leal, Jill Scott and Tasha Smith appeared in the film. Perry's 2008 film, Meet the Browns, released on March 21, opened at number two with a $20,082,809 weekend gross. The Family That Preys opened on September 12, 2008, and grossed over $37.1 million.
Madea Goes to Jail opened at number one on February 20, 2009, grossing $41 million and becoming his largest opening to date. This was Perry's seventh film with Lionsgate Entertainment. At the request of director J. J. Abrams, Perry had a cameo appearance in Star Trek, which opened on May 8, 2009. This was his first film appearance outside of his own projects.
Perry next wrote, directed, and starred in I Can Do Bad All By Myself, a film structured around his Madea character. This was Perry's eighth film and also made number one at the box office. In 2009, Perry teamed with Oprah Winfrey to present Precious, a film based on the novel Push by Sapphire.
Why Did I Get Married Too?, the sequel to Why Did I Get Married?, opened in theaters on April 2, 2010. It featured an award-winning cast, featuring Janet Jackson, Cicely Tyson, Louis Gossett Jr., Jill Scott and Malik Yoba, just to name a few. As of April 18, the movie has grossed over $54 million domestically, with $29 million made the opening weekend.
Perry's movies are co-produced and distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment; he retains full copyright ownership under the corporate name Very Perry Films, and places his name in front of all titles. Perry's movies have seen very limited release outside North America, but in May 2010 Lionsgate announced plans to begin releasing his films in the United Kingdom.
Perry produces a television show entitled Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which follows an African-American household of three generations. The show demonstrates the family members' struggles with faith and love, as well as living with different generations. The show ran in the spring of 2006 as a 10-show pilot. After the successful pilot run, Perry signed a $200 million, 100-episode deal with TBS. On June 6, 2007, the first two episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne ran on TBS. After receiving high ratings, House of Payne entered broadcast syndication. Reruns were played through December 2007 before the second season began. The third season began on March 5, 2008 and the fourth season on June 4, 2008. House of Payne airs on TBS.
Perry wrote, directed and produced the sitcom Meet The Browns, which premiered on TBS on January 7, 2009.
Perry directed a film adaptation of Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, released November 5, 2010. He will also appear in the stage show Madea's Big Happy Family, which is touring the U.S. and will be a movie in 2011, written, directed by, and starring Perry himself.
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